The Tour said in a statement Tuesday it would take the issue to the players to discuss if and how the rule would be implemented. The Tour could decide to allow anchoring in its tournaments, though it would be prohibited in tournaments such as the U.S. Open and British Open.

Brendan Steele didn't want to talk about possible litigation, telling USA TODAY Sports he hopes to take himself out of that "equation" by finding a successful way to putt without anchoring.

In the last three weeks, with his putting in disarray, Steele switched from an anchored style to the method employed by Matt Kuchar, which is legal, where the putter handle is fixated to the left arm but is not anchored to a fixed point and both hands move during the swing.

Steele said it would be "tough" for the PGA Tour to go against the rule, but said there is widespread support among the players against the ban.

USGA President Glen Nager said the USGA made its decision based on what is best for the game.

"Our mission is not to avoid legal challenges," said Nager, who is himself a lawyer. "Our mission is to determine the appropriate rules for the game that make the game strong for the long-term.

"In the event that any litigation is brought, we'll respond to whatever the claims are, but I can assure you this … we have looked at this from the legal perspective, as well, as we feel confident of our position."

Winning a lawsuit would be no easy task.

"I don't think litigation is likely to prevail here," said Michael McCann, Director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at the New Hampshire School of Law. "The basic argument would be an antitrust argument, that these rules are making the sport less competitive. They are excluding some who rely on anchor putting to be able to compete. Potentially a manufacturer could make the same argument. The difficulty with this line of thinking is that courts give pro sports leagues a great deal of autonomy in their rules of competition. And this would be a rule of competition. They've decided this is better for the game. So a court would likely give them a great deal of deference.

"If a player sued there would obviously be a backlash of the lawsuit over this. There is the public backlash. And this is not going to be an instant process. Litigation takes time. I suppose the player could ask for some kind of injuction. But it is unlikely that a court would grant an injunction to stop this new rule."